Refrigerator



Dec. 11, 1934. E. L. BARNES ,6

' I REFRIGERATOR Filed Jan. 21, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 zivve/vran EUGEN E L. BA RNES fr r/vty E. L. BARNES Dec. 11,1934.

REFRIGERATOR Filed Jan. 21,

1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 S 8' M Mm. a L h u E .N E 6 I y J a lil'ronwar Patented Dec. 11, 1934 PATENT OFFICE v 1,983,652 @EFRIGERATOR Eugene L. Barnes, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application January 21,

14 Claims.

My invention relates in general to refrigerators, and in particular to iceless refrigerators which are operated mechanically and adapted for household use.

The principal object of my invention has been to facilitate the manufacture of such refrigera-' tors by making it possible to make the refrigerator cabinet in one factory, and the mechanical equipment inanother factory.

Another object has been to provide for the easy assembly and installation of the units of the device.

Another object has been to reduce the cost of such refrigerating apparatus by not only reducing theexpense of manufacture, but also reducing the cost of packing, shipping, and handling, since the cabinet unit and the mechanical unit may each be manufactured in separate factories and shipped directly to the dealer or customer.

repairs are greatly facilitated.

The above objects and advantages have been accomplished by the device shown in the accompany drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 is a front, sectional elevation of my complete device.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, sectional, side elevation, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the upper portion of the cabinet with the cover and mechanical equipment removed.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, side elevation of the compressor, showing its manner of attachment to the cover.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary view, showing the motor and its manner of attachment to the cover.

My device comprises in general two principal units; namely, a cabinet 10, and a cover part 11, carrying the mechanical equipment.

The cabinet of my device is provided with side walls 12 and 13- and a back wall 14. These walls are of the usual insulated construction and preferably have on both the inside and outside a metal covering 15. Suitable legs 16 are provided for supporting the bottom 17 of the cabinet a suitable distance from the floor. A top wall 18 is provided in the cabinet for closing a portion of the upper end of the food compartment, and it extends across the cabinet for substantially one-half of its width. An upwardly extending wall 19 is secured to the inner end of the top wall 18. The wall 19 extends upwardly a considerable distance above the top'l8, and

Moreover, my invention is of such a nature that 1931, Serial No. 510,137 (01. 62-116) the side wall 13 extends upwardly to the same plane as the top of the wall 19, whereby an air conditioning compartment 20 is formed in the cabinet above the food compartment 21. The portion of the back wall 14 which is opposite and between the wall 19 and the upper portion of the wall 13 is, of course, extended upwardly to the same plane, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The front of the cabinet where the doors are is likewise closed over this space except where the door openings are formed. The metal covering on the inside of the side wall 12 extends over the inside of the top 18 and up the inside of the upwardly extending wall 19. The metal covering 15 on the outside of the side wall 12 is extended upwardly to a plane somewhat above the plane in which the upwardly extending wall 19 and side wall 13 terminate, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This distance is substantially equal to the thickness of the laminated cover 25 to be hereinafter described.

An apparatus compartment 26 is thus formed between the top 18, upwardly extending wall 19, and metal covering 15 extending upwardly from the side wall 12, a portion of the back wall 14 and the front of the cabinet. The portion of the lining 15 extending upwardly from the wall 12 is formed with a plurality of louvers 27 for the passage of air, and the covering extending upwardly from the rear wall 14 is provided with an opening 28 which is covered by a suitable screen 29. By means of the louvers 27' and screen 29, the air which is handled by the fan of the apparatus is permitted to pass through the apparatus compartment and thus cool the condenser mounted therein. Arranged Within the cabinet is a baffle plate 30. This baffle plate extends up into the air conditioning compartment between the boiler or cooling element 31 and the inside of the upwardly extending wall 19, thus forming a passageway 32. The upper end 33 of the partition terminates some distance below the cover so that air can pass over the upper edge thereof from the passageway 32 to the air conditioning compartment 20. The bafiie plate extends downwardly to a point preferably above the center of the cabinet or to such a point where cold air currents coming from the air conditioning compartment will be directed downwardly sufficiently far so as to reach the bottom of the food compartment before passing upwardly again in the recirculation, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1. Suitable shelves 34 are, of course, provided in the: cabinet 10.

The cover of my device is preferably made of laminated wood of such a size and thickness as to fit into the space provided for it at the upper end of the cabinet. When in place, the cover will be disposed between the upwardly extending portions of the metal covering 15, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Since the side wall 12 does not extend upwardly to the level of the top of the upwardly extending wall 19 and the side wall 13, a support is provided in the corner above the union of the side wall 12 and back wall 14. The top of this support lies in the same plane as the upper end of the upwardly extending wall 19 and side wall 13, and forms a suitable support for the cover at this point. An upwardly extending member 36 forming part of the front of the cabinet is extended upwardly to the same plane so that the cover is properly supported at all points. A member 37 is extended across the front of the air conditioning compartment and joins the walls 19 and 13.

At a point above the air conditioning compartment and passageway 32, the cover is formed with an insulated pad 40 from which is suspended the boiler or cooling unit 31 of my device. This unit is bolted to the underside of this pad, the bolts preferably passing through the laminated cover 25, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. other parts of the apparatus, comprising a motor 41, a compressor 42, and a condenser 43, are mounted within the apparatus compartment 26 and are suspended from the cover 25. The motor 41 is carried by two brackets 44, each having a downwardly extending leg 45. In each of these a slot 46 (Fig. 2) is formed which is engageable with one of the square-shaped bearing lugs 47 of the motor. Each of the brackets is also provided with a downwardly extending leg 48 which legs are arranged adjacent each other and are secured together by means of a bolt 49. The legs 48 are of such length that they engage with the body of the motor when the bearing lugs 47 are resting at the bottom of the slots 46 formed in the legs thereof, whereby the brackets 44 are securely fastened to the motor. The brackets are then bolted to the cover 25 by suitable bolts which pass therethrough. The compressor 42 is suspended from a bracket 50, which has two downwardly extending legs 51 (Fig. 4). These legs are curve-shaped at their lower edges, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to-fitaround the circular flange 52 of the compressor and to engage with cars 53 formed on the end plates 54 of the compressor, where they are secured by means of bolts 55. The bracket after having been secured to the compressor is fastened to the underside of the cover 25 by means of suitable bolts. The heads of all the bolts for securing the various parts of the apparatus to the cover are preferably countersunk, as clearly shown in the drawings so that they will be flush with the upper surface of the cover. After the cover is in place, a removable metal cover 56 is placed over the laminated cover 25, and rests upon this cover and the upper edgesof the metal covering 15 of the cabi- -net. The metal cover 56 is formed with a depending ;.,fiange 57 around its outer edge which engages the outside of the metal cover 15. The temperature regulator 58, shown diagrammatioally in Fig. 2, is also suspended from the cover. In the underside of the cover above the upper end of the upwardly extending wall 19 is formed a groove 5-9 in which the liquid gas pipe 60 and vapor gas pipe 61 connected to the cooling unit or boiler 31 are disposed. The size and depth of The the groove is such that the portion of the pipes disposed therein will lie flush or slightly under the top of the groove whereby they will not contact with the upper edge of the wall 19 or otherwise be injured. A gasket 62 is preferably placed between the cover 25 and the upper surfaces of the walls 19, 14 and 13 and the member 37, whereby the air conditioning compartment 20 and the food compartment 21 will be sealed at this point.

Obviously, some modifications of the details herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims, and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the exact embodiment herein shown and described, the form shown being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment, a cover for closing the upper ends of these compartments, a cooling unit suspended from the cover and disposed within the air conditioning compartment, and a motor, compressor and condenser suspended from the cover and disposed within the apparatus compartment.

2. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment, a cover for closing the upper ends of these compartments, a cooling unit suspended from the cover and disposed within the air conditioning compartment, a motor, compressor and condenser suspended from the cover and disposed within the apparatus compartment, and means carried by the cover for operatively connecting the apparatus carried thereby.

3. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment, and a-cover for closing the upper ends of these compartments, a cooling unit suspended from the cover and disposed within the air conditioning compartment, and a motor, compressor and condenser suspended from the cover and disposed within the apparatus compartment, the cover being formed in its under face with a groove for the reception of the gas lines of the apparatus.

4. A cabinet for a refrigerating apparatus having side walls, a top extending from one 01' the side walls toward the other side wall and across only a portion of the width of the cabinet, an upwardly extending wall secured to the inner end of the top, the other side wall extending upwardly to the same plane as the upper end of the upwardly extending wall, and a cover for the cabinet.

5. A cabinet for a refrigerating apparatus having side walls, a top extending from one of the side walls toward the other side wall and across only a portion of the width of the cabinet, an upwardly extending wall secured to the inner edge of the top, the other side wall extending upwardly to the same plane as the upper end of the up wardly extending wall, a baiile plate disposed within the cabinet and being in interspaced relation with the upwardly extending wall, the upper edge of the baifie extending to a point some distance below the upper end 01 the upwardly extending wall, and a. cover for the cabinet.

6. A refrigerator comprising a. cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment, the apparatus compartment being closed at one side by a metal covering having louvers formed therein and at another side by a metal covering having a screened opening, and a cover for closing the upper ends of these compartments, the cover carrying the mechanical equipment of the device.

7. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment, the apparatus compartment being closed at one side by a metal covering having louvers formed therein and at another side by a metal covering having a screened opening, a cover for closing the upper ends of these compartments, a cooling unit suspended from the cover and disposed within the air conditioning compartment, and a motor, compressor, and condenser suspended from the cover and disposed within the apparatus compartment.

8. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a cabinet formed with an open top, a top wall for the food compartment of the cabinet extending part way across the cabinet, a cover for the cabinet, the cover closing the open portion of the top of the cabinet and extending across the entire top and in interspaced relation with the top of the food compartment, whereby an air conditioning compartment is formed inside the cabinet, and an apparatus compartment in the same plane as but remote from the air conditioning compartment.

9. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment, a vertical insulated wall arranged between the air conditioning compartment and the apparatus compartment, and a cover for closing the upper ends of these compartments, the cover carrying the mechanical equipment of the device.

10. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment, each compartment being open at its top, a removable interior cover for the cabinet, mechanical equipment for the refrigerator, all of such equipment being secured to and suspended from the cover, and an exterior cover for the cabinet, the exterior cover being arranged above and in close proximity to the interior cover.

11. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment, a vertical insulated wall arranged between the air conditioning compartment and the apparatus compartment, a removable cover for the cabinet, and mechanical equipment for the refrigerator,

-all of such equipment being secured to and suspended from the cover.

12. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment, a vertical insulated wall arranged between the air conditioning compartment and the apparatus compartment, a removable cover for the cabinet, and mechanical equipment for the refrigerator, all of such equipment being carried by the cover and arranged below a horizontal plane passing through the top surface thereof.

13. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment, a removable cover for the cabinet, and mechanical equipment for the refrigerator, all of such equipment being carried by the cover and arranged below a horizontal plane passing through the top surface thereof.

14. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet formed in its upper portion with an air conditioning compartment and an apparatus compartment,

a vertical insulated wall between the air conditioning compartment and the apparatus compartment, a removable interior cover for the cabinet, mechanical equipment for the refrigerator, all of such equipment being secured to and suspended from the cover, and an exterior cover for the cabinet, the exterior cover being arranged above and in close proximity to the interior cover.

EUGENE L. BARNES. 

